Pacific American Fisheries, Inc., one of the world's major salmon canning operations, operated on Puget Sound and in Alaska between 1899 and 1965, with headquarters in Bellingham, Washington. As one of the world's largest processors of Pacific salmon, PAF claimed a global market and the company had regional, national, and even international significance. PAF contributed many significant innovations to the development of the industry, including floating canneries, mechanized salmon processing, ship building, and even dabbled in the production of salmon skin leather for a brief time. As PAF flourished in the early twentieth century, the center of Pacific salmon canning moved north from the Columbia River and Puget Sound to Alaska as the company opened new canneries to exploit the untapped and less regulated resources of British Columbia and remote districts of Alaska. The company's fortunes began to fall in the 1930's with the abolition of fish traps, uncertain salmon supplies, and corportate changes that served to transfer directorial power to individuals with no ties to the fishing industry.

Excursion Inlet is located about 60 miles directly west of Juneau. It is just east of the mouth of Glacier Bay National Park and is about 10 miles long.